(206) 625-1374 | Monica Legatt M.Ac., Dipl., NCCA

Tag Archives: acupuncture for back pain

It is estimated that 45% of today’s workers have neck pain, and at any given time 12% of all women and 9% of men are suffering from neck pain. Acupuncture can safely and effectively treat neck pain: not only does it reduce pain and stiffness in the short-term, but with regular weekly treatments and appropriate lifestyle changes acupuncture can cure even longstanding neck pain.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) neck pain is caused by the blockage of energy (Chi) flowing through the gallbladder and urinary bladder acupuncture meridians. When we have an injury such as whiplash or chronic tension from long hours at a computer, the energy in our neck is impaired and slows down like a bottleneck in traffic, or like a dam on a river. The ensuing symptoms of neck pain, inflammation and stiffness can all be alleviated with acupuncture treatments.

Acupuncture works by stimulating the break-up and release of the blocked energy in your neck, thereby increasing the blood flow to the region to expedite the healing process. You can expect from your acupuncture treatments:

∙Decreased neck pain

∙Increased neck range of motion and mobility

∙Decrease in local inflammation

∙Increased neck strength

∙A decrease in related conditions such as headache and back pain

If your neck pain is acute, you should receive acupuncture treatments two or three times in the first week. If you have chronic neck pain, weekly treatments for several weeks is necessary for good results. Other treatment modalities such as massage therapy, cupping, or physical therapy in combination with acupuncture will give you even faster results. A licensed acupuncturist can perform massage therapy and cupping in addition to acupuncture as part of your TCM treatment plan. You may be prescribed a Chinese herbal formula for neck pain to take such as Jing Zhui Kan or Du Huo Ji Sheng Tang.

Please contact me if you have questions about acupuncture and neck pain, or anything else related to Traditional Chinese Medicine!

In a recent article published by the Associated Press, “Acupuncture gets a thumbs-up for helping relieve pain from chronic headaches, back aches and arthritis in a review of more than two dozen studies . . . The results provide the most robust evidence to date that acupuncture is a reasonable referral option” wrote the authors.

I love to see positive mention of acupuncture in the media! There are many things about acupuncture and the treatment of pain that go unmentioned in the article, and that people untrained in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) do not realize.

Acupuncture can treat a wide variety of medical conditions that involve pain, including emotional pain. Depression, anxiety, guilt, fear, insecurity and frustration: all of these emotions have a clear cause within the framework of TCM and can easily be treated with acupuncture and also Chinese herbs.

Acupuncture is not just a way to relieve the symptom of pain: it also helps to treat the root-cause of the disease or medical condition causing the pain. By increasing the circulation of Chi or energy and also blood to the pathological or injured area of the body, it expedites the healing process, thereby helping to remove the cause of the pain, not just the pain itself.

Acupuncture helps to eliminate the things that go along with pain: in particular, fatigue. Acupuncture is extremely effective at improving fatigue. Acupuncture reduces swelling, inflammation, and even depression from longstanding unresolved pain: all of these will improve along with the reduction of pain from regular acupuncture treatments.

In upcoming posts I will be covering specific kinds of pain and their treatment with acupuncture and TCM, such as back pain, sciatica, menstrual pain, and also emotional patterns such as anxiety and depression.